More Good News From Iraq

Casey Details Threats to Iraq, Progress to Combat Them By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2006 – The primary threats to Iraq's security are terrorists and death squads, the coalition commander in the country said today, and both must be addressed if Iraq is going to progress. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said the Iraqi people “aren't going to have the security that they want until the Iraqi security forces are the primary and dominant providers of security in the country. That won't happen until all militias and insurgents are disbanded.” Casey spoke to reporters this morning in Baghdad. He said the Iraqi security forces are developing and continue to evolve and that soon they will turn into “security forces that the Iraqi people can be proud of.” The Iraqi forces are receiving the equipment they need to deal with the enemy they face, Casey said. But they will receive more armored vehicles, more aircraft and more logistical capabilities in the coming months. Casey said that while he does not know when Iraqi forces will be able to take over the security mission, they’ll be able to take on security missions with very little coalition support over the next year to 18 months. The coalition and Iraqi government have a three-step process to develop the security forces, he said. The first step involved recruiting and training the army and police. This included giving the soldiers and police the weapons and equipment they need. “The second step was to put them into the lead, still with our support,” Casey said. “When they're in the lead, they're responsible for the area, and we still help them. That process is almost 75 percent complete.” The final step will be to get the forces to the stage where they can provide security independently. “That step becomes primarily building institutional capacity, building ministerial capacity and building the key enabling systems – logistics, intelligence, medical support, those kinds of things – that can support and sustain the armed forces in place for a longer period of time.” Casey stressed that the Iraqi army forces in Diwaniyah “acquitted themselves quite well” in fighting against militia forces in the city. “They had losses, but they gave much better than they got,” he said. “And that battle is not finished yet. There were (Iraqi) soldiers that were killed there. There is clearly an illegal armed force that is attempting to control areas of Diwaniyah, and I believe that the Iraqi division commander down there is going to continue to work to restore Iraqi governmental control to that city.” Disarming the militias is key to success in Iraq, Casey said, noting that the militias have to be confronted both politically and militarily. He said dealing with the militias is “fairly sophisticated and delicate, but both those tracks have to be pursued if we're going to stand the militias down in an appropriate fashion.” The experience in Baghdad illustrates the way to take down the militias. “What we're seeing in Baghdad, as these neighborhoods are cleared, is the Iraqi security forces that go in and hold the security in those neighborhoods,” he said. “I think when the people begin to feel more confidence in their security forces, they'll feel less need to rely on the militias.” Militias are a problem, with some militias “no better than murdering, criminal gangs” that “flout the rule of law every day,” Casey said. “Those need to be dealt with firmly by the government, because no government can stand to have criminal groups terrorizing their population.” Casey said he has great hopes for the establishment of the Iraqi ground force headquarters and joint headquarters, both to begin operations in the next few days. This will give Iraqi security forces the oversight from their government that has been missing, he said. Casey praised the work of the soldiers of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Baghdad. He extended the brigade’s tour of duty in Iraq for four months to help combat sectarian violence in the capital. “It puts our most capable force at the decisive point in the campaign, and that's what we needed,” he said. “They are magnificent young men and women, and their families are also magnificent for the support that they give these solders. I know it was difficult for the families. These soldiers are making a decisive difference here on the ground in Baghdad.”

MND-B Soldiers expel terrorists from Dora school
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers seized a cache containing weapons and munitions Sunday evening in Dora, a muhalla in southern Baghdad, during Operation Together Forward, after receiving a tip from a concerned Iraqi citizen.

The tip led Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, to a school where terrorists were hiding three rocket-propelled grenade rounds, three RPG launchers, five 60mm mortar rounds, a 60mm mortar tube, a 125mm rocket, two 107mm rocket, a PKC machinegun, multiple small-arms weapons with ammunition and various bomb-making materials.

Four male suspects were detained at the cache site.

Kidnapped Ramadi Police Employee Rescued by Iraqi Soldiers
REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM-5 PUBLIC AFFAIRS
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – An employee of the Ramadi police was discovered in the trunk of a Black Daewoo Prince in Fallujah by Iraqi soldiers from the 1st Iraqi Army Division during a cordon-and-search operation Sunday, Aug. 27.

“The rescue of the Iraqi citizen during Sunday’s intelligence-driven counterinsurgency operation in Fallujah is a result of the dedication and professionalism of the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Division of the Iraqi Army,” said Marine Lt. Col. James Teeples, the senior military transition team advisor to 3-2-1. “From conception through execution, this was solely an Iraqi Army effort.”

As the soldiers conducted a vehicle check point, they spotted two insurgents abandon the Daewoo Prince and flee on foot. The soldiers subsequently approached the vehicle, and upon hearing screams and bangs emitting from the rear, opened the trunk. Inside they discovered the kidnapped Ramadi police employee, who had been bound by the insurgents.

The Iraqi man was extricated from the trunk, escorted to a Coalition forces post and then released.

Iraqi security forces capture bomb maker
BAGHDAD – Iraqi security forces captured an improvised explosive device maker and IED cell leader Aug. 27 near Mussayib. The suspect is believed to have participated in multiple IED attacks on Coalition and Iraqi security forces, including one which took the lives of four U.S. servicemembers on May 5. This individual is also believed to be a supplier of IEDs to illegal armed groups inciting sectarian violence and government instability through kidnapping, murder and armed attacks.

The raid, conducted by Iraqi police with Coalition observers, occurred without incident and there were no civilian, Iraqi forces, or Coalition Force casualties

One additional individual was detained in this operation.

IA, IP in Ad Diwaniyah Repel AttackDIWANIYAH, Iraq -- Iraqi Army and police forces successfully fended off an attack by a large group of terrorists in the Al Eufrat, Al Jumhuri and Al Nahda districts of Ad Diwaniyah after a 12-hour battle today that ended at approximately 3:00 p.m.

Local Iraqi police and Soldiers from the 8th Iraqi Army Division went out on patrol to check reports of people gathering in the Al Eufrat district at approximately midnight Sunday. At about the same time, several explosions and shooting could be heard in various parts of the city.

At approximately 2:00 a.m. today, Soldiers from 8th Iraqi Army Division reported they were being attacked on Salem Street in the Al Jumhuri district and on various streets in the Al Nahda district. The battles lasted throughout the morning.

Coalition forces provided support to the Iraqi Security Forces by setting up blocking positions at several points on the outskirts of Ad Diwaniyah to prevent additional terrorists from entering the city.

A Polish MI-24 helicopter providing support to the ISF was hit with seven rounds of small arms fire at approximately 1:00 p.m. but was able to safely land at a nearby Coalition base.

Casualties are still being assessed. Enemy casualties are unknown at this time.

Additional information will be released as soon as it is available.

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